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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24179902">I'm here for you</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosepetal05/pseuds/rosepetal05'>rosepetal05</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals - Team StarKid</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Coming Out, F/M, I have no idea how to tag can you tell, Kissing, One Shot, Trans Paul Matthews, honestly probably trash, weird amounts of laundry</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 23:15:26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,249</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24179902</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosepetal05/pseuds/rosepetal05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Emma gets a shock when she wakes up and finds blood on her sheets.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Paul Matthews/Emma Perkins</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>55</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>I'm here for you</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Have you ever read so much fanfic that you end up writing your own? This is the result.</p><p>Hello! This is my first-ish fanfic and um... idk? Here it is?? It kinda sucks?? She's short and she's shitty.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Emma recoiled as she felt something wet touch her leg. She rolled over out of Paul’s embrace, shifting into a seated position leaning against the headboard of the bed. She lifted the blankets and immediately dropped them  in surprise. A crimson red had begun staining the sheets, and both Emma and Paul had bits of blood spotted on their upper legs. </p><p>Fuck.</p><p>Her half-awake brain could barely process what was happening. She blinked hard, shaking her head in an attempt to wake herself up. She was thinking, thinking about how unlucky she was, thinking about how she should have seen this coming. Why didn’t she keep track of her period? Her last period was… last week. </p><p>Emma furrowed her eyebrows as she tried to figure out what was going on. The bleeding clearly wasn’t her period. She did a mental check of her body. She felt fine. She yanked the covers back and checked her leg. Scarred over as usual, skin pulled tight over the old wound. The blood wasn’t coming from her. Which meant…</p><p>“Paul!” she whispered, shaking his shoulder lightly. He didn’t stir. “Paul!” she said it louder, now beginning to panic. He groaned, shielding his eyes with his hand. </p><p>“What?” he asked, flopping back onto his pillow. </p><p>“Uh-” Emma blinked, unsure of what to say, “I think you’re bleeding?” it came out as a question, Emma herself not quite understanding what was happening. Paul looked confused, then looked down at the sheets. His eyes widened as he gasped, pushing himself up the bed, scrambling away from the blood as if he were terrified of it. His breathing was becoming quicker, and Emma could see his hands clenched around the sheets, whitening quickly.<br/>
“Pau-” Emma didn't even finish saying his name before he jumped out of bed, running out of the room. Emma heard a choked sob coming from him as he fled from the room, holding a hand over his mouth. </p><p>Emma was left sitting stunned on the bed, alone. Her mind was racing, still barely able to keep up in her half-awake state. She’d never seen Paul look that panicked before, and he was a very anxious person. She wasn’t sure if she’d even seen him cry before. After a while, she heard the shower turn on, shocking her into action. She peeled herself out of bed, beginning to strip the bed of it’s sheets. She carried the large pile over to the laundry, having to peer around the side in order to not trip. Turning the tap on, she let the cold water numb her hands. She took a pump of the bottle hand soap that was standing next to the sink. She vaguely wondered why he had it as she scrubbed, feeling the material sting her hands as it rubbed against her skin. Emma watched as the red was washed down the drain, hypnotised by the swirling water. She got into a rhythm, letting her mind go blank. Water, soap, scrub, repeat. Eventually the pile of sheets disappeared, and she slammed the door of the dryer, pressing a few buttons and hearing the gentle whir of the machine. She sighed as she wiped her hands on her shorts, rubbing them together in an attempt to regain their warmth. </p><p>Emma walked out into the hallway, seeing Paul sitting on the grey couch. She had seen him spread out on the couch countless times before, forcing her into the corner as he took up the entire space. His eyes would be bright as he laughed at something she said, and his arm would be resting gently on her leg. Now, Paul was huddled under a blanket, arms and legs tucked into a ball.   He was staring blankly at a wall, his hands white around the pillow he clutched to his chest..Emma could see lines down his face where tears had left their marks. His eyes were red and watery. Somehow Paul, a giant of a man, managed to look small.  And it was heart-breaking. </p><p>Emma silently padded towards the couch, slowly sitting down next to him. She leaned into him, but he didn’t return the sentiment. Paul tensed up, shifting away from her. All Emma wanted to do was throw her arms around him, and run her fingers through his hair. But it didn’t matter what she wanted right now.<br/>
“Hey,” Emma said, taking his hand as she looked up at him, “What’s up? Are you okay?”<br/>
Paul wouldn’t meet her eyes. He took a deep breath, picking at his palm.</p><p>“I’m transgender.”</p><p>“Oh,” Emma said simply. It wasn’t as if the thought hadn’t crossed her mind during the past hour. “Why didn’t you tell me?”</p><p>“I was scared,” he shifted again, still looking away, “I really like… this. I really like you. And I guess I didn’t want you to leave.” He swallowed, biting his lip. “Do you want to leave?”</p><p>“Paul-”</p><p>He began to gesture frantically with his hands. “I understand if you do. I get it. I’m not what you expected. I don’t want you to stay on account of my-”</p><p>“Paul!” she interrupted him, grabbing his shoulders and turning him to face her. “I’m not going to leave you, okay? Not because of that. I like you. I like your dorky face and your stupid laugh. I like how you can watch the same TV show ten times in a row and still laugh. I like the way you turn red every time I compliment you. You’re amazing, and funny, and super hot. You being transgender doesn’t change that. It doesn’t change the fact that I-” she took a deep breath, still holding his gaze, “that I love you.”</p><p>Paul hadn’t moved during her little spiel, staring at her blankly. He remained silent, biting his lip. Emma opened her mouth to continue but was met with Paul moving forward to kiss her. It was hungry, but slow, both of them longing for connection, for proof that they were really there for each other. Paul slowly ran his fingers through Emma’s hair, making her shiver in delight. She moved her hands to his hips, just under his shirt. He gasped as she ran them up his body, stopping at his chest. She drew her head back, feeling Paul’s heavy breaths on her face. </p><p> </p><p>“I love you,” she repeated. It was her turn to look nervous. She thought that when she told Paul that she loved him she would be facing an internal battle, feeling an urge to run away, to hide from it all. Instead she felt calm. In fact, it was the most certain she had felt her entire life. The fact that Paul could break her by just saying a few words was still terrifying. But he had made himself vulnerable. It was time Emma did the same. </p><p>“I love you too.”</p><p>Emma breathed a sigh of relief, a smile taking over her face. She wiped away the remnants of the tears in his eyes, silently apologizing for causing him grief. Then she leaned in to kiss him again. She relished in the way he touched her, his hands gently pushing in on her waist. Paul had become the one constant in her life. Someone that looked out for her, bringing her food when she stayed up all night studying, laying blankets on her when she fell asleep on the couch. She wondered if she could be the same for him. </p><p>“I’m here for you, okay?” she breathed.</p><p>“Okay.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So yeah! Hopefully that wasn't too shitty?</p><p>Also, I myself am not transgender or personally know anyone who is transgender so I sincerely apologise for anything that is incorrect or that I have represented anything badly. Honestly this idea just came to me so I wrote it.  If anything is wrong please educate me, and if anyone has any problems with this please let me know and I can change it and/or take it down. </p><p>Thanks for reading! I would really appreciate any feedback if you feel like it :)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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